The Twelve Days of Christmas
by Shiro Ryuu
Summary: A series of generally unrelated Christmas themed drabbles, all based around different characters or couples. Contains a pretty even mix of romance, comedy, and angst. COMPLETE!
1. Partridge

**Introduction: **As they don't give nearly enough space in the summaries to properly explain this monstrosity, I thought a brief (?!) introduction was in order. This story will include twelve drabbles, as you might have guessed, each based around one of the verses of the Christmas carol 'The Twelve Days of Christmas'. Generally they'll be based on the religious symbolism behind the verse (I probably didn't research this thoroughly enough...), though some of them may play with the actual wording of the verse as well - and some might not seem to have anything to do with either, because... I'm a bad, bad girl, heh. They'll all be focusing on the relationship between two characters, though not all of them will be romantic (okay, so you could probably interpret most of them that way if you _really_ wanted, hee). In addition to friendly or familial relationships, anything goes romance-wise - there will be about an even number of heterosexual and yaoi drabbles, and expect to see some yuri as well. (Well, I say 'yaoi' and 'yuri' because these are really the appropriate Japanese terms, but actually I'm afraid to say that none of these will contain anything beyond kissing. (watches mournfully as all the readers click the 'back' button)). Other than that, I'm gonna be posting a drabble a day so some people may have trouble keeping up, but I'd really love it if you made an effort to review every chapter, even if you only want to leave a one-liner, 'cus I'm an impressionable idiot who depresses herself thinking her writing is crap if she doesn't get lotsa reviews, heh.

**AN:** And now, about this actual chapter (don't worry, you'll get to read it eventually!). This one is Rosiel/Katan, and it's one of those ones that's _probably _not romantic, what with Katan being a kid at the time it's set (though even so there's a certain amount of ambiguity there, since I love them as a couple sooooo much, hee). It is now my embarrassing duty to say that I never did find out what the partridge symbolizes (really shoulda consulted more sources), but I can tell you that 'my true love' supposedly refers to God, or the love of God. Anyway, this drabble isn't my very favorite, but nevertheless I hope people can manage to enjoy it :)

* * *

**One x Partridge**

* * *

Morning dawned bright and clear in Heaven on Christmas day. But then again, Inorganic Angel Rosiel mused over his coffee, when did it not?

Somebody had really outdone Himself this year, he thought. The ground as far as his eyes could see was covered in a thick layer of glittering white snow, perfect and pure, which did not melt even though the weather was as comfortably warm as always. The walkways were conveniently clear of the stuff, because there could be no disgusting gray slush trodden underfoot on Heaven's sidewalks. Rosiel found the whole scene somehow vaguely grotesque, and he turned away from his balcony to finish his breakfast.

_Things that pretend to be beautiful..._ But he pushed the thought away. Today was not a day for dark thoughts. A faint smile came over his face unbidden as a first strain of song reached his ears; they must already be warming up. Leaving his meal half-eaten, he slipped a small package from the table beside him into his pocket and was out the door.

At this ceremony in the High Church of Raquia, the front aisle was traditionally set aside for Rosiel, two whole pews to himself. For the sake of balance he left them both empty, and sat in the closest balcony to the left of the stage instead. From here he could get a much truer sense of the atmosphere of the place, and could see what interesting people had decided to show up.

Directly behind his empty row sat the Great Seraphim Metatron and his caretaker, Sevothtarte. Rosiel's grin was a bit morbid as he watched them; Metatron was so cute... that it was almost scary... Next were the Elemental Angels - or Angel, at least. The rebellious Michael and Raphael had opted not to come, unsurprisingly enough, and of course Uriel had not been present since time out of mind. Rosiel wondered what Jibril was thinking, all alone there; he wondered if, perhaps, she was beginning to get frightened...

_How sad, _he thought wryly. _No one comes to church anymore... _And in addition to all the empty seats - and the fact that the Great Seraphim was a mere infant - the Great Thrones, two rows further back, was a homicidal maniac... Rosiel wasn't sure if he could remember a time when the ranks of Heaven had been more depleted...

Then, at last, the murmurs from the curtained area behind the stage fell silent. The crowd, which had not been making much conversation as it was, grew quiet as well as they noticed the change. The hush became so complete as the choir filed out that Rosiel could hear the swish of their robes.

There was a respectful pause after they had all taken their places, but gradually the music began as first one young angel and then another opened his mouth and sang. In an ancient tongue they declared: '_Holy holy, hallelujah, On this day our savior comes, He is born again...'_

Rosiel had barely begun to scan through the group of children before he found him. Amazing how, in a sea of blond heads, he could pick him out so easily. His expression softened without his even realizing it as he watched the boy raise his clear voice in praise of God...

In due course the music came to an end, to be greeted by a smattering of appreciative murmuring and light applause. Rosiel exited the room discretely, by taking the long way around the back of the pews, so that he arrived in the main corridor at the same time as the choir master and his students. The man jumped to see him approaching, and attempted to salute him and bow to him at the same time.

"R-Rosiel-sama! Do you require anything?" Rosiel allowed the Virtues-class angel a small and firmly business-like smile.

"Actually, yes; I have some rather tedious errands to do today, and if you're done with these students, I could use a page. That one will do," he added with a casual wave.

"Of course!" The teacher turned to the boy and, to Rosiel's amusement, leaned down to whisper a few frantic words to him before handing him over.

They walked in silence down the hall. Rosiel fidgeted with the package in his pocket. Eventually he murmured, "Have you been having a good Christmas?"

Katan grinned, as a slight happy flush colored his face. "Definitely," he whispered back.

**TBC**


	2. Turtle Doves

**AN: **Hee, now this one I _like_. Even though it's another one that really has nothing whatsoever to do with its verse, heh. In fact, I switched it with another one at the last moment... But anyhoo, 'two turtle doves' supposedly refers to the Old and New Testaments, and the couple this time is Mika/Raphael. (sweats) Eh, whatever. It's all terribly cliché, but I thought it was funny, at least. Some of it was also inspired by that classic of glorious yaoi-y-ness, FAKE, so it can't be all bad. Warnings for cussing (the reason for the rating: revealed!), and for yaoi-y-ness ;)

* * *

**Two x Turtle Doves**

* * *

"Raphael, you freakin' pervert!"

Raphael grimaced, and glanced over his shoulder. "Mika-chan. I didn't hear you come in... does that mean you're ill, then?"

Michael growled low in his throat. "No, I'm just goddamn pissed! So I came over here - and, on top of everything else, you've got _five fucking mistletoes _hanging in your office?! And stop calling me Mika-chan! ...And get that bitch out of here already!"

The woman Raphael had just been 'examining' (in great detail) wriggled out from under his arm and scurried around Michael and out of the room with a weak 'kyaa' as the Flame Angel glared daggers at her in passing. Raphael sighed in a put-upon sort of way. "What now?" he grumbled, folding his arms over his chest and looking oddly uncomfortable.

Michael flung up his arms in frustration, a picture of righteous rage - he had a piece paper clutched in one hand, Raphael noted. "You got one of these too, right? I can't believe these bastards! If I don't show up for the Christmas day celebration in the capital building at Raquia - to do what? smile pretty? - then I'm gonna be under house arrest for two weeks! Yeah, _right_. Who's gonna enforce it, anyway?"

Raphael smirked. "Heh. They only threatened me with one week. They know I'm not such a wild animal." The paper in Michael's hand began to smolder as he scowled at him; Raphael casually drove all the air out of the area immediately surrounding it with a thought, as he wasn't too keen on winding up with a burn mark on his carpet.

"So, what?" Michael sneered. "You tame enough to go, then?"

They engaged in a staring contest, until finally Raphael had to look away to mask his sniggers. Michael smirked in an amicable sort of way, his eyes lit up with the promise of upcoming mischief.

"Hey, Mika-chan?" Raphael said, abruptly arranging his face into a serious expression again.

"Hmm?"

Raphael reached up and wiggled his fingers above Michael's head to make him look. "You missed one," he commented, and stole a kiss.

_Warm lips,_ he had just enough time to think.

The following explosion resulted in no fatalities, thanks to the Angel of Healing being readily available.

**TBC**


	3. French Hens

**AN: **This one is more somber than the last one, though it's not without a cute bit or two. I hope you find this satisfactory, Contra Mundi ;) The 'three French hens' symbolize the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity, which I thought would be appropriate for a drabble in which Raziel and Zaphikel recall their first meeting. Hmm... so much ambiguity - Though there is a certain amount of blushing involved, it seems like their feelings towards each other are very innocent... but then again, you can take it how you will ;)

* * *

**Three x French Hens**

* * *

Raziel stood so still in the doorway that he almost forgot to breathe. Zaphikel stood with his back to him across the room, watching the snow fall - but of course that wasn't right. It couldn't be right, could it...?

And then, though Raziel could not guess what had alerted the older man to his presence - his rather rapid heartbeat, perhaps? - Zaphikel half-turned, and murmured: "Raziel...?"

The boy flushed in embarrassment, and nearly dropped his papers. "Ah - I-I'm sorry! I was just -" Zaphikel chuckled at him.

"I can hear it," he explained. "Most people don't even realize it, but snow _does_ make a sound when it falls. Softer than silk..."

Raziel shuffled his papers to mask his discomfort. "Yes, I suppose everything must make _some_ noise," he said off-handedly. The look on Zaphikel's face, however, killed any further words in his throat...

"Raziel?" the Great Thrones finally asked. The boy had to focus on the papers in his hands for a long moment before speaking again.

"Um... I have some reports to read," he offered quietly.

Zaphikel scoffed, and Raziel was ridiculously relieved. "On Christmas Eve? Nonsense!"

The blond angel scowled. "_It's not Christmas Eve_!"

"Alright, the eve of Christmas Eve, close enough," Zaphikel said flippantly. "Wouldn't it be more fun to have tea?" Upon sensing a growing aura of impending doom from across the room, he hastily added, "You can read them to me afterwards, okay?"

"I will read them to you _while_ we have tea," Raziel said menacingly, "sir."

"Alright, alright!"

Zaphikel settled himself at the small table by the window, and listened to Raziel making the tea in the next room. The young cadet slammed the cabinet doors irritably enough... and so the older angel found it terribly amusing to hear, as the water was gradually heating, Raziel humming to himself.

As he listened, though, the smile slipped from his face; presently Zaphikel returned his attention outside.

'_Yes, I suppose everything must make some noise...'_ He smiled wryly. _No, my Raziel, that is not true. I know you have not forgotten; you will never forget... only you, out of all your fellow sufferers, and only after ten minutes of agonizing effort..._

From the kitchen, Zaphikel could hear the sounds of Raziel putting together a snack tray. _And it was so ironic that, after all that effort, you gave such a simple answer... so ironic that you gave such an answer to **me**, when I... I know that I must one day-_

The Great Thrones was snapped rudely from his musings by a tea tray being plunked down on the table in front of him. "Tea on your right, Lord Zaphikel, and cookies on the left," Raziel informed him in a carefree tone; all earlier infringements had clearly been forgotten.

"Thank you, sweet Raziel," he murmured solemnly, and though of course he could not have had any way of knowing, he had a strong suspicion that Raziel was smiling. In a fit of nonsensical giddiness, the great angel intoned: "Merry Christmas Eve _eve_," and toasted it with a teacup.

**TBC**


	4. Calling Birds

**AN: **I _adore_ this one. (oh, the vanity; will anyone even review if I say something so rude...?) But I do; it's all cute and angsty and fluffy... Heh hem. This one is Sevi/Metatron (_probably_ not in a romantic way, heh), and it plays around a lot with the actual wording of the verse as well as the symbolism. 'Four calling birds' symbolizes the four gospels or evangelists, and even before I decided that there would be birds involved I had picked this one for Sevi and Meta-chan, because they see the world in so many different ways at once – spoiler alert! - Sevi is also Layla, and Metatron has Sandalphon's consciousness in his head as well (more or less). ...Pushing it a bit, I know, heh, but oh well. Please pay extra-special attention, because something that's mentioned in this chapter will come up again sometime soon (come to think of it, the same could possibly said for something in chapter one, but that won't come up until way later...).

* * *

**Four x Calling Birds**

* * *

The sister on the bench was shivering rather violently. Metatron didn't seem to mind the lightly falling snow at all - but then again, he had been much better bundled up. The poor girl's mind had obviously been totally on him as she had been preparing to take him out, but of course the consequences of ignoring his well-being in favor of her own would have been far worse than catching a cold.

The tiny seraph was watching the birds with an expression of simple bliss. Somebody had scattered seeds on the ground a short distance from the bench, and nearly twenty fat, white-bellied little gray birds were fluttering and bickering over the black streak. They suddenly scattered, however, as a shadow fell over the blond boy.

The boy glanced up, and his face broke into a huge grin. "Sevy! You did come, yay!"

Sevothtarte gazed down at the trembling sister for a moment before murmuring a dismissal to her and taking her place beside Metatron. "Is this really what you wanted to show me?" he asked, in a voice laced with wry amusement. "Seeds on the ground? Just because it's Christmas doesn't mean I'm not busy, you know..."

Metatron shook his head earnestly. "Nuh-uh! Just watch."

Though it was true that he had better things he could be doing, something made Sevy decide to humor the boy. The cold didn't really bother him either, even though snow was gathering on his long white hair. Metatron slipped his mittened hand into Sevy's gloved one; the Prime Minister of Heaven stared at this for a few moments, but gradually the warmth began to seep through the two layers of cloth, and he let it be.

One of the fluffed-up, nondescript gray birds came down amongst the seeds again at last. It was quickly followed by another, and another - by more like itself, but also by proud red robins and nervous chickadees that would never touch the ground for more than a moment. Metatron tightened his grip on Sevothtarte's hand in excitement. "Look, Sevy," he said, as if he wasn't looking already, "aren't they cute?"

Sevy arched an eyebrow. "You act as if you've never seen birds before," he chided, but Metatron just beamed up at him.

"Yeah, but - they're so happy!"

Sevy watched the birds in silence for a while, as they pecked away at that one splash of black in the middle of all the perfect whiteness. Metatron kicked his feet beside him for a bit, and then, with a childish impulsiveness, let go of his hand to move over and snuggle up underneath his arm instead. "Sevy," he mumbled, "I wish you would sing something. You sang a really pretty Christmas song once, something from way down on Earth... I can almost remember..."

Because he had almost bitten his tongue in shock, Sevy made no reply. He merely stroked the boy's hair for a long time, feeling some ghost of his warmth through his gloves as the white, white snow came down around them.

**TCB**


	5. Golden Rings

**AN: **Possibly the shortest drabble in this collection (which is really saying something!), but I'm rather fond of it as well. More chibi-ness! This time we have Mika, at about seven years old by human standards, and Balu, on the subject of Lucife(r/l), so technically three characters... I hope it's actually spelt Balu in the official Viz translation? I have paper copies of books 1 thru 13, and 16, sweatdrop. You know, that lady who always took care of Mika but was actually in love with Lucifel...? And again, this one makes use of the actual wording as well as the symbolism. 'Five golden rings' refers to the five chapters of the Old Testament, the Pentateuch, that detail man's fall from grace – obviously this was one of the first ones I decided on ;)

* * *

**Five x Golden Rings**

* * *

_I remember that, when I was very small, Balu would tuck me into bed._

* * *

"Now, now," the caretaker said with a soothing smile. "The earlier you go to bed, the earlier you'll be able to wake up!"

Michael pouted. "Nuh-uh! I can stay up all night!"

Balu arched an eyebrow. "I... don't think you quite get the point..." She sighed and shook her head, but the truth was that she found the little boy's antics amusing. "Would you like me to read you a story, then, Michael-sama?"

"Nuh-uh," he said defiantly, though he did allow her to gently push him back in bed and pull the covers up to his chin. "Balu, what do you want for Christmas?"

She blinked. "Oh, my... you don't have to get me anything, you know..."

He beamed. "But I _do_ want to, stupid, why else would I have asked? So what do ya want?"

Balu smiled a little. "Well... I suppose I do like jewelry... I know, it's silly, a useless thing-"

"Jewelry it is!" Michael said enthusiastically. "It's not silly at all, for a pretty lady like you! I'll get you a diamond ring for every finger!"

She laughed out loud at that. "You don't have to go _that_ far, Michael-sama, but thank you. But I'm really supposed to be getting you to bed, you know. You don't want to fall asleep on Christmas day, do you?"

He sighed. "Oh, _fine_... I'll try, anyway..." Balu chuckled at him, and he suddenly looked up at her with a much more serious face. "But you gotta tell me one more thing first."

"And what's that?" she asked indulgently.

"What do you think brother would like for Christmas?"

A shiver chased up and down her back as she was caught off guard.

"I..."

_Just what **does** he want, I wonder? Just how far away **do** those cold eyes look...?_

Balu managed a watery smile. "I really couldn't say, Michael-sama."

**TBC**


	6. Geese a' Laying

**AN: **A lot of the info in this is lifted straight from book 16, but a lot of it's kind of sketchy too. For one thing, did that guy who was in love with Layla even have a name? (sweats) You know, that guy who was a dragon when Setsuna met him in hell, whose name I can't remember either...? Just to be safe, I didn't call him anything, but that's who the characters are, heh. Also, did that guy even actually work on the Sandalphon project...? Eh, whatever. 'Six geese a' laying' most appropriately means the six days of creation, so this was another one that was a perfect fit ;) Also, I _told_ you stuff from chapter four would be showing up again...

* * *

**Six x Geese a' Laying**

* * *

_Deck the halls with boughs of holly,  
_'_Tis the season to be jolly._

It was the song that drew him to stray from his path and go instead down the corridor where one with such a lowly position in the project as himself should have been forbidden. He was well aware of what the consequences would be, should he be caught down here, but there was simply no way he could resist this voice.

_Don we now our gay apparel,  
__Troll the ancient Yule-tide carol,  
__Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la..._

He _knew_ this voice, he swore he did, but could it really be? The singer interrupted herself with laughter, and what a gentle, bubbling laugh she had - and yet there could be no mistake, as he gazed around the shadowed corner at her.

_See the blazing Yule log before us.  
__Strike the harp and join the chorus._

There was no doubt about it; it was the very same girl he had seen late last Sunday, sitting in the chapel after everybody else had gone and singing 'Kyrie Eleison' with the sunlight streaming down around her.

_Follow me in merry measure,  
__While I tell of Yule-tide treasure,  
__Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la..._

He had not been able to tear his eyes away from that amazing presence then, and now was much the same. Silken hair and a beautiful face - but it was so much more than that. He felt as though he had never seen innocence before.

_Fast away the old year passes.  
__Hail the new year, lads and lasses._

He was so caught up in her that her song was almost done before he even realized what she was singing _to_. His eyes widened. She could even sing to something so... frightening...?

_Sing we joyous, all together,  
__Heedless of the wind and weather,  
__Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la..._

Her song finished, the girl touched the glass tank lovingly. "That's a song from Earth, Sandalphon," she whispered. "It's really pretty, isn't it?"

As the man hurried away again, he worried that the girl might be _too_ innocent.

**TBC**


	7. Swans a' Swimming

**AN:** This one was originally chapter two... which could explain any possible crappiness. And on top of that, it's really just re-hashing my one-shot 'Dangerous Type', only with a different scenario and no Kato, heh... The couple this time is Kira/Setsuna (or is it Kira/Alexiel?), and as 'seven swans' refers to the seven sacraments, it really makes even less sense here than Mika/Raphael would have... But it's got cussing and underage smoking, so it can't be all bad, right? (sweats)

* * *

**Seven x Swans a' Swimming**

* * *

It had all started with an off-hand complaint during one of their monthly visits.

"Oh, brother - guess what? Mom and I are going to Hawaii for Christmas!"

Setsuna's eyebrows shot up. "Wow! That's really great... how can you guys afford-?"

Sara shrugged. "Oh... Mom's boyfriend is taking us."

"You like him?" Setsuna asked casually, leaning back in the park bench and staring at the bare tree branches above them.

"He's okay," she said vaguely. "He's got a lot of money, and he's really nice to Mom."

Setsuna glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes. "Is he nice to _you_?" Sara shrugged again and gave a small nod, and he relaxed. He attempted to cover it up by joking: "Well, he's got money, so it sounds good to me." His sister just rolled her eyes.

"And what about you, brother? What are you doing for Christmas?"

He grimaced. "Heh... Not a clue. Hang out with Kira, maybe. Dad's taking his _girlfriend_ someplace... Kyushu or something..."

"And you're going to be all alone?" Sara demanded, shocked. "That's so awful!"

He held his hands up hastily. "Oh, it's okay. I'd rather spend Christmas with Kira than that guy, anyway. And Kira feels the same about his old man, so he'd be completely alone too if I didn't spend Christmas with him." Setsuna beamed at his impeccable logic.

"Christmas is supposed to be a time for family," Sara said sternly. "It's very wrong of Dad to do that to you - and Kira should be nicer to his father, too!"

Setsuna shook his head, grinning a little. "So what should we do, then? Kira may be my best friend, but it's not like I can exactly force the guy to sit down to a nice Christmas dinner. And Dad's practically drooling over the idea of all that time alone with his little - um."

Sara gracefully overlooked the last bit. "Well, maybe we can get Toshi-san to take you to Hawaii, too!" Setsuna choked, and she smiled a little awkwardly. "Well, I suppose Mom wouldn't... but I'm sure we could at least have you over for dinner before we go!"

Setsuna shifted awkwardly in his seat, and avoided eye-contact. "Uh, I don't know... Are you sure Mom would even want to see me for that long?"

"Leave Mom to me," Sara said obstinately. "Come on, please, brother?"

He grimaced. "Um..."

"_Please?_"

* * *

"...and I can't _believe _I let her do that to me; I'm such an idiot!" Setsuna concluded, rather muffled due to the pillow over his face.

Kira took a drag from his cigarette. "Yup," he agreed. Setsuna hurled the pillow at him, and missed. "So what are you going to do about it?"

Somehow, now, it was the afternoon of the day that Setsuna was supposed to have dinner with his mother and Sara; he wasn't quite sure how the date had crept up on him so suddenly. Though he really needed to get going sometime soon if he didn't want to be late, he was nevertheless sprawled face-down on Kira's bed while Kira lounged against the wall having his umpteenth smoke; he'd come over here hoping... what, exactly? That Kira would talk him out of it, perhaps?

Setsuna glowered at Kira over his arms folded in front of his face. "Well, I don't know... I guess I've got to go-"

Kira snorted. "No you don't. In fact, if you hate your mom so much, I'd say you shouldn't."

Setsuna stared at him. Well, hadn't this been what he'd come here to hear? And yet somehow he'd been expecting something less... blunt... Kira stared back at him for a moment, then shrugged, and returned his attention to his cigarette. "It's not like anyone's twisting your arm. You should only do what you want to do..."

Setsuna sighed, and looked away too. "Yeah, but... I promised her..."

Kira snorted. "Oh, _right_. But are you sure you really want to be trying so hard to get her to like you?"

Setsuna grimaced visibly. _I... oh God... _"Are you telling me I should want her to _hate_ me...?" he said, almost to himself.

Sakuya squatted down to stub out the cigarette in the ash tray at his feet, and meditated on the dying cinders. "Fuck, Setsuna," he said, sounding amused, "do I even have to tell you what you want?"

Setsuna sighed again, and stared at his hands in front of him. _What I want...? I... want... Well, I... yes, I would give anything just to..._

"I'm going," he mumbled, sounding none too happy about it.

Kira smiled a little sadly, because Setsuna's eyes seemed so far away just then. _You are seeing her laughing face, aren't you...?_ And for just a moment he wanted to shout, to scream, _I am always here, look at **me**!_

The click of the lighter as Kira lit up a new smoke brought Setsuna's attention back to earth. "That's cool," he said casually. "But you're coming with me on Christmas; no way 'm I spending it with Yoji..."

And Setsuna smiled angelically at him, and said: "Yeah - I'll need _something_ good to look forward to, to get through tonight," and it occurred to Kira for perhaps the first time ever with such startling clarity that Setsuna was not, could not be, Alexiel. That woman had always known what she had wanted, from the very moment of her birth, and it never even crossed her mind to worry for the souls she would have to damn to get it...

Behind the cover of his cigarette smoke, Kira wondered just what it was that _he_ wanted.

**TBC**


	8. Maids a' Milking

**AN: **Hee, I _told _you there was going to be yuri (or was anyone actually looking forward to this?). Either way, I don't give a crap that they're both girls (y'know, sort of); I think Kurai/Hatter is one of the cutest possible couples in AS. I can't imagine why I hadn't written anything for them before... The 'eight maids' symbolize the eight beatitudes, or those deemed worthy of God's blessings: the poor, the mourners, the hungry, the persecuted, the meek, the merciful, the pure, and the peacemakers... in other words, ooh, the irony ;) A note on the timeline: this is set sometime shortly post-series, so I'm saying that Setsuna and Sara moved into their own little place (since their parents probably wouldn't have let them live together if they'd had any say, feh). ALSO, I'm posting this a little early today, and also I might not be able to post tomorrow, because a couple of my friends are kidnapping me for the next few days :) Oh well; maybe this will give people a chance to catch up ;)

* * *

**Eight x Maids a' Milking**

* * *

Princess Kurai stared out across the Evils' lands without seeing from the highest window of one of the tallest towers of her palace - though this was not actually very tall at present, as the building was still in the process of being built. A light snow had driven everyone indoors, so there was not much to look at in any case. The girl blew a long bang out of her eyes (though it fell back in place right away), and her shoulders slumped a little further as she rested her chin on her arms folded on the window sill.

Because it was a weekend up on Earth, she had visited Setsuna today. Though 'visited', she thought moodily, was really too kind a word; really she should just call the activity 'spying'. She liked to look in on him from time to time, to make sure he was doing well, though in truth she was quite well aware that this was in no way good for her mental or emotional health. Kurai glowered to herself. Sometimes she thought she'd like it if she went up there only to find out he'd died, the asshole.

It would've been better than what she had seen today, at any rate. She hadn't realized that it was a holiday up there. Setsuna had his little apartment all decked out with strange but beautiful decorations, and he had been sitting in the living room admiring what appeared to be the centerpiece of it all, a big fir tree wrapped in a string of lights and hung with dozens of sparkling glass baubles... he had been sitting there gazing at it with such a peaceful expression on his face, and Sara curled up next to him...

"Oh, _really_ now, why so glum?"

Kurai nearly fell out the window. "Wha - _you_?!"

The apparition before her tipped its hat, and the ridiculous parasol it had been carrying disintegrated into a shower of snow that melted instantly into nothingness the moment it touched the floor. "So good to see you again, my pensive princess. This humble jester must apologize a thousand times for not coming to see you earlier, and please believe that I have wanted to; unfortunately we have been quite busy on the lower levels of this kingdom as well."

"Y-_you­..._" Kurai finally managed to shut her gaping mouth, and raised a hand to her head wearily. "Showing up out of the blue as usual," she muttered, somewhat hysterically, "nearly scared the crap out of me..."

The Hatter smiled pleasantly, leaning against the wall next to the princess. "Though perhaps I really should have come sooner?" it mused. "You looked so adorably depressed just a moment ago, obviously in need of a jester - and on a holiday, too!"

Kurai glanced up in surprise. "Holiday-?" She pointed upward. "You mean the one on Earth? But that's - not something devils celebrate..."

"Christmas is a lovely holiday," the Hatter declared, "with many enjoyable traditions. Take, for instance-" It snapped its fingers, and Kurai stared stupidly up at it as nothing happened.

"Wha-" Kurai was cut off, however, as the Hatter pressed a firm kiss to her lips.

"-mistletoe!" the Hatter concluded, smiling brilliantly, as Kurai stumbled backwards choking and sputtering.

"YOU-! Argh! I'll _kill_ - agh..." The Hatter just chortled, however, and easily stayed out of reach of Kurai's flailing arms.

"See, now? Don't you feel better?" Kurai was startled still, and the Satan perched on the window ledge. "Did you miss me?" Belial murmured.

Kurai examined the floor. "Yeah, I guess," she grumbled.

**TBC**


	9. Ladies Dancing

**AN: **Extreme fluff alert, yay. I can't believe I'm actually enjoying writing a canon couple... wait, could Rosiel and Katan be considered canon...? Heh. But in any case, _this_ drabble is Setsuna/Sara. MORE chibiness, it's set when they're both somewhere between five and ten. 'Nine ladies' refers to the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. All pleasant-sounding things, so in spite of it being somewhat ironic again, I thought it would be good for such a cutesy couple.

* * *

**Nine x Ladies Dancing**

* * *

"_Agh!_ Wake up already, big brother!"

Setsuna groaned. "Ugh... Nnh, S-Sara? 'S still vacation, isn't it...?"

"Yeah, but-"

He rolled over with his back to her. "Ug. Lemme _sleep_..."

"-but it's _snowing!_"

He cracked open one eye. "Hn?" Sara beamed as he scrambled to the window.

"Wow!" her big brother exclaimed, obviously totally awake now. "So cool! Let's go build a snowman!"

Sara grimaced. "We can't. Not until mom and dad wake up; you know we'll get in trouble if we don't have breakfast first."

Setsuna smirked. "But if they're still in bed right now, they won't know. C'mon, we can go out the window!"

Sara's eyes went wide. "Wha-? Brother, _no_!"

_(Five minutes later...)_

Sara cackled as she stuffed snow down the back of Setsuna's coat. "You're it!"

"GAHyaaa!"

Setsuna pounced, snow in hand, to exact immediate revenge, but he over-judged his leap and sent them both tumbling. When they rolled to a stop, Setsuna stared down at her for a moment as Sara stared back up at him. "Heh heh," he said, and to her surprised, brushed snow off her nose. Then he rolled off her to lie in the icy cold beside her.

"Y'know," Sara eventually said, blinking up at the falling snow, "I think we're too far away to even hear if mom calls. We'll be in _so_ much trouble-"

"Feh," Setsuna said scornfully, and somewhat more bravely than he felt. "They're both idiots, then. They should know we're old enough to take care of each other by now."

Something about the way he said 'each other' instead of 'ourselves' made Sara giggle. "You can't even scramble an egg!"

"That's you're job!" he said, and she pouted. Setsuna rolled over on his side, and Sara was struck by how suddenly serious he looked. "And it's my job to protect you from bullies - and idiots! So if we get in trouble, I'll tell them it was all my fault, that you didn't want to come out at all. Because it's true anyway, isn't it?"

Sara stared at him. He looked so very earnest... that she couldn't help but stuff snow in his ear. "Totally. I don't want to be here at all," she intoned, and then shrieked gleefully as she ran away to avoid having snow rubbed in her hair.

**TBC**


	10. Lords a' Leaping

**AN: **This time it's Kira/Kato, yay! Actually, it's a pretty weird little drabble, heh. But I liked the ending, at least... The 'ten lords' are in reference to the Ten Commandments; I've finally managed to make another one that makes sense! In other news, this is another one with underage drug use, and possibly more cussing than all the other drabbles combined...

* * *

**Ten x Lords a' Leaping**

* * *

Kira banged on the door to the ramshackle old warehouse for a good five minutes before giving up. "Damn it, Kato," he grumbled, kicking the unyielding slab of metal one last time for good measure, and then went to the broken window instead.

Peering around the dark hovel, he might have missed the other boy if he hadn't spoken. "Fuck, Kira," Kato moaned, "I have the door locked so you figure that means, 'come on in'?"

"A little kernel of wisdom - don't try to be a wiseass when you can't even see straight." Kira grinned toothily, and went over to squat down next to his friend. "Is that only alcohol?" Kato shrugged vaguely, and Kira rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you," he griped, as he went through the pile of rubbish and bottles around Kato to see if he could get some hint of what the blond was on. "Letting me stand out there when it's pissing snow..."

"'S good for you," Kato slurred.

"Then why aren't you out in it too, instead of in here pickling your liver and hell knows what else...?" Kira asked distractedly, squinting at a label on a paper bag and holding it up to what little light there was.

Kato scoffed. "'Cus it's Christmas," he mumbled bitterly.

Kira gave a solemn nod. "Yeah, I guess that could be dangerous. All that good cheer might be contagious."

Kato scowled at him, and sat up a little straighter. "'S just so full of it," he said. "You think anyone's really gonna be nicer just because it's Christmas? Anyone who thinks that has it comin' to them."

For the first time, Kira noticed the beginnings of a black eye on the other boy's face, and he smiled.

"Christmas isn't about being nicer, you idiot," he declared. "It's just like everything else - it's about having a good time!" Kato gave him a skeptical look. "Of course," he added off-handedly, "if having a good time also happens to make you want to be nicer - well, nothing wrong with that..."

Kato stared at him for a moment in the dimness, but then he looked away. "How the hell are we supposed to have a good time right now, huh? Everything's closed."

Kira shook his head in mock-exasperation. "Man, you _must_ be fried. That's the point!" A slight grin graced Kato's face, and Kira smirked. "C'mon, let's make a religious observance out of it. Let's see how many Commandments we can break before the sun goes down."

Kato was outright smirking too now. "All right, all right. Help me up, then," he mumbled. Kira gave him a hand reflexively - and, though he knew he was going to get his ass kicked for it afterwards, Kato yanked him down so that their lips clashed almost painfully. _Okay, you wiseass - that's one._

**TBC**


	11. Pipers Piping

**AN: **(snivel) A sad one this time, I'm afraid. Quite possibly the saddest one in this series (or maybe I just think that because I care for Katan so much?). I probably shouldn't have let this one wait until so close to Christmas, heh... But in any case, this is Katan on the subject of Rosiel, which I thought would be nice and appropriate for 'pipers piping', as this symbolizes the eleven faithful apostles. I came up with this idea as I was walking through a snowstorm pretty much identical to the one pictured here; actually, I finished most of these drabbles during that storm, because I find snow and other generally icky weather oddly inspiring, heh. This is set during the time that Rosiel is sealed in the earth - and it has something that could possibly be a reference to chapter one, see if you can figure out what ;)

* * *

**Eleven x Pipers Piping**

* * *

The night before Christmas, Katan found himself trudging through an endless world of snow.

The snow on the ground only appeared to be a couple inches thick at first glance, but with each step the ice underneath it cracked deeply. There were tall trees all around him, and the tip of every twig was hung with a tiny icicle; the branches were coated with the stuff. When he chanced a glance up, it was impossible to tell where the falling snow ended and the clouds began. The wind whipped the snow into tiny tornados and tossed the trees - they bent stiffly, because they were so coated with ice - and it blew loose snow across the surface of the ground to create odd patterns something like ocean waves. Mostly, though, he did not look up, because it would expose too much of his neck to the wicked cold; he merely hunched his shoulders and focused on moving one foot in front of the other.

It was too much effort even to focus on his destination; the cold consumed all his thoughts. First his ears and nose went numb; then his knees; and then, even though they were in gloves and shoved in his pockets, he even began to lose feeling in his fingertips. The driving wind swirled his hair about his face, but even that was cold, and scratchy with icy snow; it made his eyes blur. He could feel it all so vividly - at first the paper-cut on his finger ached especially much, though eventually he could no longer tell it apart from his other achingly numb fingers.

Finally, as the chill was even beginning to sink into his boots, he looked forward. He shielded his eyes from the snow, but it was no good; it was coming too heavily now, he could not even see a hundred feet ahead. Where was he going, again?

* * *

When Katan came to, the first thing he was conscious of was how very much his back ached. He soon discovered why; he was curled up in a tight, tense ball, arms wrapped around himself, and he was so very cold. He sat up, grappled with disorientation for a moment, and discovered that he was in his bedchamber. It seemed he had kicked his covers off in the night.

He slipped on a robe, and went to the window to twitch aside the curtains. With wry amusement he discovered it was snowing. He observed how it fell with perfect smoothness on the carefully sculpted hedgerows between the decorative paths, how the whole landscape was fresh and undisturbed in the unmoving morning air.

His fingers danced idly across the curtain's hem. In his dream he had been deep in a forest; strange, he didn't think he'd ever actually seen a place like that. And the weather was never anywhere near so vicious here in Heaven.

A miniscule smile came unbidden to his lips. But it all made sense, really... when you considered that today was Christmas day...

He padded silently back across the room and opened a drawer. He turned the object he took out over and over in his hands and stared deeply into it; it was a snow globe that housed a tiny wood, and when he shook it a hundred artificial snowflakes spun wildly 'round...

It was, he recalled, a Christmas present from so very long ago. When as a young boy he had exclaimed that he had never seen anything like it, the one who had given it to him had smiled one of those smiles that he could never seem to forget, and had told him that it was a miniature world for times when the real one seemed too big.

As he sank weakly into a chair and covered his face with a hand, Katan remembered the evil cold of his dream, and he thought that that person had made a mistake, putting it that way. Now that he was gone, his world was only growing smaller.

**TBC**


	12. Drummers Drumming

**AN: **OMG, the last one at last (so obvious that I'm not even sure it _could_ be called a pun). This one is a little bittersweet too - well, a little bitter, but mostly sweet :) It's Setsuna/Sara, post-series this time. 'Twelve drummers' symbolizes the Apostles' Creed, which pretty much contains a lot of basic Christian theology - "I believe in Jesus Christ... our lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Sprit, and born of the Virgin Mary" etc. It's another one of those 'ooh, the irony' things, in other words, but also it occurred to me that packing all that theology into a few easy-to-remember lines kind of makes a nice parallel for the cheapening discussed here. Okay, okay, there's probably a perfectly good reason for it, I know pretty much nothing about any and all religions, heh. This chapter actually refers specifically to events in chapter nine, but it's all in fun (I hope). And on that note, I'm feeling just a bit sick (go figure!), so I'll just say merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night :) (passes out -.o;)

* * *

**Twelve x Drummers Drumming**

* * *

They had known that, even after everything they'd been through together, there would be hard times. They had known that there would be unforeseen hardships. This was one of them.

It had happened when they had been walking back to their apartment building after doing a little Christmas Eve shopping. They had to pass by the church to get from point A to point B; there was simply nothing they could do about it. And so they had wound up stopping and watching, either by some unspoken agreement or just because they were both frozen in place, as the wedding procession filed out of the building.

"Sara," Setsuna murmured, sounding pained, as he noticed that she was focusing intently on her shoes. She looked up as he spoke, however, and gave him a brave smile.

"Let's go," she said, and they did. They passed the next hour quietly in their little apartment... until the snow started.

"Ooh, look at it," Sara breathed, plastering her nose to the tiny window. Setsuna, behind her, smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"It's not as pretty as you," he said teasingly, and she giggled.

"You're so _lame_!"

He buried his nose deep in her hair, and sighed. "One of these days, I'm gonna marry you," he murmured.

Sara closed her eyes. "How?"

"We'll go to America," he told her, "where everybody will look like us. We'll say we were both orphans, so we don't have any birth certificates..."

She opened her eyes again, and smiled. "It sounds so frivolous, doesn't it?" Setsuna arched an eyebrow. "Birth _certificates, _marriage _licenses_... it's all bureaucracy." Sara took his hand, outright beaming now. "Let's go for a walk."

Setsuna twitched. "Wha? It's seven o'clock! And it's snowing..." In the face of her relentless bright grin, however, he threw up his hands in defeat. "Fine, fine, guess I can't let you freeze your butt off all by yourself..."

After getting appropriately bundled up, Sara led them eventually to a nearby park. The snow was falling pretty heavily; by that point there was already at least half an inch on the ground. "Do you remember this place?" Sara asked.

Setsuna frowned. "Hey... isn't this where we always used to play...?" He couldn't help but think how close that meant their old house was, but Sara was still smiling.

"Uh-huh," she agreed, and pushed him.

"Gargh, _hey_!" he protested, and then sweatdropped as, giggling, Sara let herself fall down next to him.

"Lay back, silly! Snow angels!"

He looked at her for a moment as if she'd grown a second head... but then he just laughed and, in spite of feeling rather foolish, did as he was told.

"Hmm," Setsuna eventually hummed, staring up at the white snow falling out of the black night sky. "This is pretty familiar, isn't it?" Sara glanced over at him, and he grinned. "Yeah... I told you I was gonna protect you, and you dumped snow in my ear."

She shrugged flippantly. "You started it," she said, grinning back.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did _not_!"

"I could do it again if you're not care- mmph..."

In the end, they completely ruined the space between the two snow angels - leaving a shape that looked like one angel behind.

**The End**


End file.
